Project Update: TEDxDU

Good evening all!  My apologies for slacking on the posts.  I am working with the University of Denver to put on TEDxDU, which is coming up on May 13th!

Everything is coming together beautifully, and hopefully some of you will even be able to attend.  Registration has already closed for the main event in Gates Theater, but there will be “watch parties” on campus with a live stream of all the fun.

The theme of the event this year is:  Issues.  Ideas.  Action.  And it’s all a part of some of the wonderful things the University is currently doing to showcase their passion for “DUing Something” to improve the human condition.

I feel so fortunate to be a part of this amazing and talented team putting this event together.

Stay tuned for updates on TEDxDU!

Lauren

Being Timely with Your Brand Management

We live in an age of information.  Our global culture can be accessed by social media sites, blogs and the like within a matter of moments.  Because of this, Brand Management must be timely for a couple of reasons:

• one, a brand should be able to capitalize on opportunity and be relevant to your customers at any given time,
• and two, sometimes, we have to do damage control.

In the article, Bringing Your Brand Back From the Brink from the UK magazine Marketing Week, the author gives several great examples of where multiple brands (like Domino’s Pizza, Toyota and Tiger Woods) have succeeded and failed with proper brand management.  The article talks about the necessity of  acting quickly, otherwise waiting even a week may send another message – that your company is not prepared.  And it’s not realistic to sit back and “hope for the best rather than plan for the worst.”

When I talk about being prepared, remember that I mean for both opportunity and for crisis.  At one time, “green” was a huge differentiator for a company- now it’s expected. Companies that are still bragging about being earth friendly at this point have missed the boat.  Keep in mind that whatever opportunities a brand manager links their brands to should be consistent with the brand attributes, the brand promises and pertinent to the customers’ values and desires.

With technology today and whether or not we are experiencing a brand-crisis, I believe our brands need to adopt a more humble, transparent approach to business and bring back that human element.  Isn’t it better to take responsibility for things we might not be so proud of, than to try and sweep it under the rug after we’ve already been caught?  I would personally much rather shake hands with someone who had made a mistake if I knew I could trust them to do the right thing afterward.

Being prepared, more than simply being reactive in a crisis, ultimately helps build trust and strengthen the perception of our brand(s).  For information on how you can manage your brand in a more timely manner, feel free to contact me.

Lauren Brenkle

LBrenkle@FlavorStrategies.com

Build Trust. Keep Your Promises.

I believe it’s time for a shift back to what was good in business.  Where a handshake actually means something and you can trust the word of the person you’re doing business with.  Sound like wishful thinking?  Not with the way the economy’s been going.

People are beginning to make purchase decisions more carefully, and that means as businesses, we’ve got to give them the goods.  Hopefully, you and your employees were already acting honorably – and that will have been great practice for what needs to happen in businesses now.

As brand managers, we need to communicate value to our customers in everything we do.  That doesn’t mean offering coupons or discounts that will cheapen our brands.  I’m talking about honing in on what our customers need – what they will need and making sure that we offer those goods and services.  Most importantly, (and I cannot stress this enough), if we make a promise we must keep it.

If, for some reason a promise is not able to be kept, whether that’s a brand promise or a personal promise made to a customer, your company and all its employees better make provision for it.  Manage the customer’s expectations and be prepared to go the extra mile to make up for their disappointment.  In fact, it would be a great idea to plan ahead, do some internal training or role play to make sure that everyone is prepared in the event that a promise or policy cannot be upheld.

It’s the way my mom always taught me to be.  When you make a promise, mean it- then do what you said you were going to do.  Period.

This brings up another thing you need to consider when communicating promises to your customers – don’t over do it.  Make sure a promise is within your means to give.  Letting your customers down is a surefire way to keep them from coming back.

One example of a brand over-promising on a large scale:  KFC introduced grilled chicken to their menu. Oprah promoted the new item on her show and posted coupons for a free taste on her site.  Millions of coupons were downloaded, and KFC stores ran out of the chicken and had to turn away a lot of customers. People left empty-handed or feeling duped.  Needless to say, this promotion was a complete failure.

So, keep it simple.  Be clear about what your promise is, whether in marketing materials, advertising or social media- and then do it.

If you have any questions about strengthening your brand, please don’t hesitate to contact us:  info@flavorstrategies.com

Every Employee is a Brand Ambassador

Employees are the secret ingredient to the success of your brand.

That’s right.  Having a great product or a shnazy logo is only half the battle.  Your employees and how they present your company can be your brand’s biggest asset or biggest detriment.

Many of us have had at least one interaction with an employee that determined whether we made a purchase or not.  I’m thinking of one instance where a customer I interviewed swore they would never go back to a certain car dealership because of how the salesperson treated them.  At the time the customer visited the dealership, he was young and had a budget; but rather than create a positive experience for the customer, the salesperson felt it was better not to waste his time with this young man and wait for a “better” customer.  The outcome:  the dealership’s employee lost a potential customer’s business for life.

You know what else?  The customer and his parents, shared their negative experience with everyone they knew.  Years ago, when a person had something negative to say about a company, they would tell an average of 11 people and then each of those 11 would relay the story to about 5 others.  But that was before social networks existed, so now the impact of one rotten experience is exponentially more if a disgruntled customer takes their complaint to the internet.

Here’s what I might have said to the salesperson if I had taken him through Brand Ambassador Training: “treat every customer as though they are your best customer,” because the truth is, you never know who that young person knows or if they will frequent your company with their business later on.

Sure, “brand loyalty” is increasingly becoming a term of the past.  Customers want to go where they find meaning or where they’re going to get a great deal.  But a negative experience with your brand can create a bad taste that will affect more than that one person’s decisions.

That’s why it’s important to invest in your employees.  Get them excited about your brand and what it stands for.  Let them know what’s expected of them and give them the tools to do their job well, because every one of them is an Ambassador for your brand, from the person who answers the phones, to the sales force and customer service reps, to the person handling your social media.  Make sure that every interaction your customers have with your employees is a positive one that builds trust in your brand.

Of course there will be times when something doesn’t go perfectly smoothly.  Businesses are made of people who do make mistakes.  And it’s not uncommon for customers to have a bad day every once in a while.  Okay, it’s a pretty good bet your employees will deal with someone with a chip on their shoulder at some point, but it’s how your Brand Ambassadors deal with those challenges when they arise that gives the customer all the information they need to decide whether they want to do business with you now or in the future.

To find out more about how to strengthen your brand with Brand Ambassador Training, contact us at info@flavorstrategies.com.

Create a Meaningful Customer Experience

In my line of work, I hear a lot of people say things like: “Oh, we’ve been doing branding for years.  We have a great logo and our employees all have matching shirts.”  And I smile and nod, because while this is a part of branding, it’s only a piece of the visible brand identity.  To create a successful brand, we have to go deeper than that.  Much deeper.

Don’t get me wrong.  You do need a great logo and surrounding brand identity.  You must have a unique position in your market and a distinctive brand voice that communicates the essence of your brand in all marketing and advertising materials; but having these things does not automatically make your brand float.  It’s not just about what you say or how you say it, it’s what you do.

Your brand needs to make an emotional connection with your customers.  When they come to you, they need to not only have their expectations met, but they must also find meaning in the experience of purchasing your brand’s product or services.  They may find it in the ease of being able to return a product with no questions asked.  It could be as simple as the feeling they get when they slip on a pair of your brand’s jeans because they make their butt look good.  Or the high they get when they purchase a car with great gas mileage and they believe they’re doing their small part to help the environment by reducing their carbon footprint.

It may not always be deep, but it’s meaningful to them.

The challenge is, meaning is constantly changing.  These days, a company must really have their finger on the pulse of what’s happening with their customers so the brand remains relevant.

How do you achieve that?

Communication.  There are so many ways, from Facebook to Twitter, to find out what customers and potential clients are saying. There’s really no excuse not to take advantage of social networks and uncover how to improve the customer experience within your company.  There’s also the good old-fashioned method of just striking up a conversation to find out what the experience with your company was like, and areas where your company are really strong or could use some improvement.

It’s a balancing act.  Your overarching brand and what it stands for doesn’t change; but what you offer evolves, elevating the experience and creating a way for your customers to connect and be delighted by your brand.

Happy customers means repeat business, positive word of mouth and ultimately more money in your company’s pocket.  So, when you think about it, putting the time and effort into creating a great customer experience is worth the investment.

If you’re curious about how to create a meaningful customer experience and strengthen your brand, contact us at info@flavorstrategies.com.